Side projects and automation rabbit holes
Why tinkering with scripts, deploy pipelines, and small tools is half the fun of building things.
Every side project starts with a simple goal. Then you notice the friction around the goal. Then you build a tool to remove the friction. Then the tool becomes its own little universe. That is the automation rabbit hole, and I fall into it regularly.
The pattern
- I want to publish a static site.
- I do not want manual uploads.
- I write a deploy script.
- The deploy script gets flags, staging modes, and SSH config.
- Suddenly I have written more tooling than content. That is fine. The tooling pays rent on future projects.
What I try to remember
Automate the boring parts so the creative parts get airtime. Stop before the tooling becomes the product unless that is the point. This blog will collect more notes from that boundary — useful scripts, small wins, and the occasional over-engineered solution.